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5 Amazing Benefits of Building an Outdoor Fireplace

Nothing
defines comfort, luxury and warmth like an elegant fireplace, but you
no longer have to be inside to enjoy the experience of a cozy fire. An outdoor fireplace offers you the same benefits as an indoor one, including five that may surprise you.

When conditioning the crawlspace beneath your home, choosing the right insulation material
is crucial. Most homes built in the last 40 years are constructed above
a vented crawlspace with concrete block walls and a dirt floor. Houses
built before 1990, however, typically have no crawlspace insulation
whatsoever.

Unfortunately, these spaces become a reservoir of chronic dampness,
mold growth and cold air that can infiltrate your living space.
Conditioning a crawlspace means eliminating moisture sources and adding
insulation material. This way, your crawlspace is the same temperature
and environment as the rooms above.

Today’s vented gas fireplaces
offer homeowners many advantages. In contrast, wood-burning fireplaces
are inherently inefficient. A large amount of the energy present in wood
is lost in the form of hot gasses released during combustion, rather
than being converted to BTUs of warmth. In fact, burning wood loses as
much as 90 percent of available heat energy during the combustion
process. That’s a lot of expense and effort for relatively little heat
output.

Even
though the U.S. solar industry employs 143,000 Americans, pumps more
than $15 billion a year into the U.S. economy and offsets an estimated
20 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year – the equivalent of
taking four million cars off U.S. highways - solar faces an uncertain
future in Washington and in some state capitals. It’s more important
than ever for the voices of our friends to be heard.

Your outdoor fireplace probably adds a cozy aesthetic to your South Bay Peninsula and Santa Cruz landscape. We’ve compiled some helpful advice on how to keep this cherished focal point free of debris and operating safely this winter.

If
you haven’t moved up to a programmable thermostat for your HVAC system,
now’s the time to do so. You’ll save more money by taking advantage of efficient, preset
heating and cooling schedules that can keep you comfortable. Read on to
discover what’s the best programmable thermostat for your San Jose
home.

significantly boosts nighttime home safety and security, and learning
how to mount security lights may be easier than you think. Once
electrical cables have been run to the desired area, it’s just a matter
of installing an outdoor-rated electrical box to properly house the new
lights, and then wiring in the lights themselves.

Is
your home not getting as warm as it once did? Dirty ducts may be the
culprit. Not only can they prevent warm air from circulating properly
throughout your home, but they can also cause costly damage from extra
strain. These cleaning tips for furnace air ducts will help you get your
furnace back in tip-top shape.

A
full kitchen remodel can be a significant update to your
home, so it’s not something you should rush to complete. Before you
contact a professional or start picking out new appliances, you should
consider a few important factors. Keep the following in mind:

When
temperatures start to fall, your source of heat becomes an important
factor. Many homeowners will be faced with a gas vs. oil furnace
dilemma. Both fuel types have their defenders, so how do you choose
between the two? Consider the following: